Simmons is out to spoil Roddy's joy

By GRAEME CROSER

STEPHEN SIMMONS was delighted to see former Hearts team-mate Roddy McKenzie named player of the month - but now he wants to sicken his pal by ending his run of clean sheets at Tynecastle tomorrow.

The Livingston goalkeeper was yesterday presented with the Bank of Scotland award for October which he won on the back of a series of stunning displays which have seen him keep five clean sheets on the bounce.

Tomorrow, he returns to the club which freed him in the summer and Simmons is well aware how keen McKenzie will be to put one over on the Jambos.

The pair used to journey from Hamilton to Edinburgh for training every day and Simmons became well acquainted with the shotstopper’s will to win.

He said: "Big Roddy is doing brilliantly just now and I was glad to see him get the player of the month award.

"He’ll be determined as hell to come back here and keep another clean sheet especially as a former player.

"He played quite a few games for Hearts and never let the club down but he had to play second fiddle when Gilles Rousset and Antti Niemi were here.

"With quality like that in front of him it was always going to be difficult to break in and hold down a place.

"Unfortunately the club decided to let him go but he’s gone on and done exceptionally well with Livingston and he deserves all the plaudits he’s getting just now.

"I used to travel into training with him from Hamilton and got to know him pretty well.

"He hates losing a goal, he hates losing a game of golf - in fact he hates losing anything!

"So hopefully we can stick a couple past him on Saturday and sicken him.

"There will be a wee bit of wind-up between the two of us in the build-up to the game but, seriously, I’m glad he’s been doing so well."

Simmons started his first match of the season on Wednesday night as the Jambos beat Falkirk 2-1 in the CIS Cup.

The midfielder earned his placed in the starting XI after scoring as a substitute in last weekend’s SPL win over Partick Thistle - his first top-team appearance of the season.

An ankle injury sustained in pre-season ensured a slow start to the season for the Scotland under-21 internationalist but after a series of fine displays for the club’s second string he forced his way back into head coach Craig Levein’s first-team plans.

He continued: "The Falkirk match was my first start of the season and one I’ve waited a long time for.

"My fitness was the main reason I wasn’t involved from the start of the season. I hurt my ankle right at the start of pre-season and that set me back, and I’ve been trying to work my way back into the picture ever since.

"I’ve been playing quite well in the under-21s and I’ve got quite a few goals under my belt now as well. I thought I was ready on Wednesday but the pace is a wee bit different and I was a bit tired by the time I was taken off.

"I actually thought I’d scored in the first half but the keeper made a really good save. I don’t know what the manager will do this weekend. He may decide to go with the same team again or he might want to shake it up a bit. I felt I did okay on Wednesday and obviously I’d love to keep my place.

"Playing Falkirk is always a hard game and they kept it tight and were right in our face so we really had to earn the victory. The gaffer said to us that the game was all about just getting through and we managed to achieve that."

Livingston are currently mining a rich vein of form under caretaker manager Davie Hay and are putting together a good challenge for a top-six place.

Hearts have generally been regarded as the third best team in the country for a while now, but have been unable to pull clear of the rest of the non-Old Firm sides this term. The Lions are one of the sides snapping at their heels and Simmons knows how important it is to piece a sequence of results together in order to plot a course for a European place.

He said: "Livingston will come here and make it hard. They are on a good run of form and have been very solid at the back.

"It will be a tight game and it looks like they are getting back towards the form which got them to third place a couple of seasons ago.

"The league is very tight this year but we want to build on what we have achieved in the past few seasons.

"The Old Firm apart, nobody is pulling away so we want to start beating the sides around us and try and open up a gap. Our aim is to finish third again but we need to prove we are good enough."

Taken from the Scotsman